By D. Reed Eckhardt, Editor, The Rio Grande Sierran
Feds Move to Revoke Chaco Buffer Zone Trump’s Executive Oder “Unleashing American Energy” Prioritizes Fossil Fuel Pofits Over All Else
Tribal leaders and the state’s congressional delegation are expressing displeasure with the federal government’s plans to remove a 10-mile oil and gas development buffer around Chaco Canyon Culture Historical Park.
On Oct. 30, the Bureau of Land Management sent notification to tribal governments that it would begin the process of revoking the buffer. The buffer was announced in mid 2023 by then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. She cited tribal communities’ worries “about the impacts that new development would have on areas of deep cultural connection.”
BLM said its decision is based on President Trump’s recent executive order “Unleashing American Energy.”
The administration is moving forward with the Chaco plan despite Interior’s estimate that it would add only a few dozen wells to the area over the next 20 years, but which represent impacts to small communities, their health, and the greater Chaco landscape.
In response to BLM’s announcement, the Greater Chaco Coalition condemned the action.
In a release, it said, “Local communities have been experiencing a devastating increase in drilling activities that threatens their health and the health of the land. (We) once again call for holistic protections for the entire Greater Chaco Landscape and its communities, including an end to fracking, remediation and reclamation and meaningful investments in regenerative local economic opportunities and a just energy transition, grounded in the principles of free, prior and informed consent.”
The coalition also said the decision not only threatens irreplaceable sacred cultural sites, but also endangers the health of the local Diné people.
“Again, we are back at potentially desecrating a spiritual and holy place on Mother Earth. All for greed and money,” said Hazel James-Tohe with Dine Matriarch. “Do we really want to see puddles of black oil and gas waste, destruction of the landscape and continue to breathe the toxic fumes that are a threat to all life?”
The state’s five-member congressional delegation also condemned the move. They said they have been in regular communication with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about the importance of protecting Chaco Canyon. They also have introduced legislation to try to make the buffer zone permanent.
Camilla Feibelman with the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club said, in part, “This is a stunning failure of governance and justice. … (T)he Trump administration is once again prioritizing fossil fuel profits over public health, climate stability and the protection of our shared public lands.”